Boston’s Next Mayor Kim Janey Has A Long Record of Working To Support Children and Families

Early today, it was reported that Joe Biden would select current Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as United States Secretary of Labor. This means City Council President Kim Janey will soon become Mayor of Boston and make history as Boston’s first women Mayor and Boston’s first Black Mayor

Much of Kim Janey’s Career has centered around Children and Families.

According to her official biography, “Prior to being elected to the Boston City Council, Kim was a Senior Project Director at Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC), where she led efforts to advocate for systemic policy reforms that would ensure equity and excellence in education for students in Boston Public Schools, with a special focus on eliminating opportunity and achievement gaps for children of color, immigrant children, students who are learning English, children with special needs, and those living in poverty.”

She also states in the issues section of the website that she is ”Working for universal pre-Kindergarten and expanding dual language opportunities for all students”

Even before joining MAC, Janey “worked as a Community Organizer for Parents United for Child Care. There she helped develop and implement a state-wide issue-based campaign and founded a “neighborhood chapter” of parents committed to fighting for affordable, quality child care.”

As a young child Janey’s “first educational experience was at New School for Children, a community school in Roxbury founded by Black parents who wanted their children to have a better school experience.”

More recently, in a June 18 Article Published in The Boston Globe during the COVID-19 pandemic  Janey wrote about the importance of caretakers “In the three months since the COVID-19 pandemic began to turn our lives upside-down, we’ve all been forced to rethink the way we do everything, from buying groceries to keeping in touch with loved ones. While it hasn’t been easy, we’ve found a way to adapt and persevere. This is especially true for Boston’s young people and their caretakers who have worked tirelessly to provide equitable educational opportunities for all.”

It will be interesting to see what Janey’s tenure as Mayor means for Early Childhood Education and Care in Boston.

*The photo above is from Kim Janey’s official biography page https://www.boston.gov/departments/city-council/kim-janey